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About SpiderOak

SpiderOak is an online backup tool to back up, share, sync, access and store data using an off-site server. SpiderOak is accessible through an app for Windows, Mac and Linux computer platforms, and Android, N900 Maemo and iOS mobile platforms. SpiderOak allows the user to back up any given folder of his/her computer.

SpiderOak uses encrypted cloud storage and client-side encryption key creation, so even employees of SpiderOak cannot access users' information. However, these claims cannot be independently verified since the client's source is not available. Some components of SpiderOak are open source, and the company has announced their intent for the client to be fully open source in the future.

SpiderOak distinguishes itself from competition in provision of encryption, in provision for syncing files and folders across multiple devices, and in automatic de-duplication of data.

Ratings Summary

Relative performance in

Metric

Score

Rank

cloudswave Score

72

#14

Domain Authority

67

#14

Alexa Rank

113481

#24

Facebook

0

#0

Twitter

0

#0

Google+

0

#0

Integration

0

#0

Security

0

#0

Support options

0

#0

Platforms

50

#5

We constantly strive to verify the reliability and trustworthiness of our data sources in order to help you make the best software selection decision. Ratings are also strictly independent from any kind of affiliation or commercial relationship with Cloudswave.

SpiderOak Demo Video

SpiderOak Screenshots

Plans & Pricing

Free

Features

Personal

$12 for 1 Month / 1 user(s)

Features

Space: 1 TB

Full Featured Backup

Sync

Share

Access

Storage

Personal

$129 for 1 Year / 1 user(s)

Features

Space: 1 TB

Full Featured Backup

Sync

Share

Access

Storage

SpiderOak Review by Cloudswave

SpiderOak is a file hosting and online backup service that has a number of features and options that help make it easy for users to access their data, sync it, and share it with others as needed, and it all utilizes cloud-based servers.

Security and Privacy

Everyone has files to protect and keep safe, and people are finally realizing that they need to take their data security seriously. Privacy for your files doesn't mean that you have something that you want to hide. It's a right that everyone should expect, but in today's digital world, the idea of privacy seems to be slipping away. Fortunately, that's not the case with SpiderOak. They take your protection very seriously, and they allow you to keep your files in an easily accessible place as long as you have a connection to the Internet.

For example, if you are on a vacation and you get a message from a client that just can't wait, you could use your mobile phone to access the information they need and send it to them quickly. That is the power of the cloud and of SpiderOak in action.

The company has a Zero Knowledge policy, which means that they do not have access to the encrypted data that you place on their servers. Everything that you send to the system gets encrypted before it leaves your computer, and the only way to unlock it is with your private password. The employees at the company will not have any access to your files. They do not even have access to your metadata. This means that people should feel comfortable placing their confidential files into the system.

How is this different from other systems?

Many of the storage and backup solutions out there only encrypt the data when it is being transmitted.

What does this mean for you?

It means that the documents and files that you store are in plain text and anyone who gets on the servers, from the staff to hackers, will be able to see exactly what you have stored. This makes it easy for them to steal your data. With SpiderOak, the data is always encrypted. In addition, you have control of the keys to access the data, not the company. This is another element of security.

Since your password is encrypted and they do not have access to it, you might be wondering what you should do if you were to forget the password. Fortunately, it's easy to retrieve. You can enter your email or password into the system, and they will send you a password hint. Many users actually choose to use a third party password management service so they do not have to worry about keeping all of their passwords in order, and this might be a good solution for you as well.

Some might mistakenly believe that all companies take their security this seriously, but that's not the case. For example, Dropbox and Google Drive have access to your keys, which means that there is the possibility that someone else could be reading and accessing your data.

The company's application is HIPAA compliant, so anyone who is looking for a backup and storage system and who deals with patients will find that this could be the storage solution they've been seeking.

While privacy is great, some might want the ability to share some of their data with family, friends, or colleagues. SpiderOak takes this into account and offers you the ability to allow portions of your files to be shared, or even to be public if you wish. You will create a "ShareRoom". Then, you will add the folders that you want to share. Then, you will be able to provide a unique URL to the people with whom you want to share, or they can enter the ShareID and RoomKey on the SpiderOak website's main page. This makes it easy to share what you want to share without worrying about giving people access to everything that you have stored.

How Reliable Is the System?

If you have all of your important files in the cloud, you want to be able to access them whenever you need. You don't want to deal with a company that has a service that goes down all of the time. SpiderOak definitely seems to understand this, as they perform extensive and automated internal tests to ensure everything is working properly.

The company operates all of their own hardware as well and they do not outsource anything. The data is saved in a file system called "redundant clustering". This means that even if they were to suffer a loss of several different machines, your data would still be safe as it is stored in a number of places. You do not have to worry about their storage infrastructure though, as they have redundant power, generators, redundant cooling, battery backup, and multiple Tier 1 ISP uplinks. Ultimately, all of the technical talk simply means that your data or your company's data is safe.

What Options Are Available?

You will have a number of different plans available when you use SpiderOak, and it comes with a 60-day free trial, so you can make sure that you are getting a system that will work for you. First, let's look at the different personal plans that are perfect for individuals.

As with so many of the other cloud storage and backup services, you will find a free version available. However, this plan will only come with 2GB of space. For some people, this is all they will need, and it could work out perfectly without them needing to spend a thing. Yet, with people having more and more data that they want to store and backup, it might be a better option to choose one of the higher level personal plans. Keep in mind that all of the following prices are the current prices and they are subject to change.

For $7 a month or $79 per year, users will have 30GB of space. The next plan is $12 per month or $129 per year, and this provided 1TB of space. Those who want to have even more space can choose the $25 a month or $279 a year plan, which offers a massive 5TB of space. This could be a good solution for professionals, such as graphic artists, writers, filmmakers, developers, and others who have massive amounts of data that they need to store.

For larger groups, whether it is a small business, a large company, or even a family that wants to keep all of their files together, there are some other options. SpiderOak Groups has a free setup and it then costs $5 per user per month. It's easy to start, requires a minimum of ten users, and offers the ability to upload unlimited files. You can choose a 14-day free trial for this option. This will give you a good idea of whether it will work for your size group or not. Keep in mind that you have to have at least ten users to make use of this plan.

The Enterprise Hosted plan has a $299 setup currently, and is then $5 per user per month. This includes an active directory, requires a minimum of 100 users, and allows for unlimited files. The Enterprise on Premise plan has a $599 setup and then costs $5 per user per month. It has all of the features of the other plans, but requires a minimum of 500 users.

The Enterprise option also offers centralized management, making it easy to manage all of the users of the system, as well as to enforce any policies you have in place. You can set policies, permissions, and find out what is happening on the system. Users have more control over their company's data, and just as with the other options, you can sync the data between operating systems.

Should You Consider Using SpiderOak?

Your backup and storage system should be as easy as possible to use, don’t you think? That's SpiderOak's philosophy as well, and you can see that in the design of their site and the simplicity behind their deceptively robust system. They do not want their users to have to struggle with the system. It simply works, and that's part of the reason that the system has become so popular over the past several years. It works well for personal use as well as professional use.

No matter what type of user you might be, it can be a good option because it scales so easily. If you are an individual who wants to keep all of your digital photos in order, it works well. If you want to keep information from your company on the servers, then it can work well for you too. Overall, it is a great, simple, and effective system for storage and backup and comes highly recommended. It's not the only solution out there, but it remains one of the best.

SpiderOak is a good choice if you need to backup small sized files from many devices and if privacy is your main concern. The fact that your data is protected by a private security key by default, makes it a secure option to protect the integrity of your data. However, it is not as simple and complete as other services available for even less. While it provides an effective service and advanced features, it may not be the best solution for users that don’t have much experience with online backup.

While the price is a little higher than some other services you are able to backup up multiple computers with one account. You could easily backup your main desktop, the kids computer and your laptop all on one account. Overall SpiderOak is a solid backup service perfect for home and business online backup needs.

User Reviews

Favorable

2 In total

5

1

4

1

Tamer Desouki

SpiderOak has been a lifesaver many many times for me. The basic principle of the software is an online backup and file hosting service. You can think of SpiderOak as an alternative to Dropbox. The main difference between SpiderOak and other similar online cloud hosting software comes from the high level of encryption. SpiderOak offers a client-side encryption that makes it very difficult for anyone other than the user from viewing ones' content.

I've used SpiderOak in conjuction with Dropbox. However, the type of documents I use for the two services is vastly different. I use Dropbox to store pictures that I need easily accessible on different devices, such as PC and mobile device. I use SpiderOak to upload confidential documents such as copies of tax returns, customer files and sensitive information. I really like the extensive security that comes packaged. I find it very worrisome that the files saved via Dropbox are, for the most part, unenctrypted such that anyone, including employees of Dropbox, can possibly view your material. Given that SpiderOak provides users a unique digital "key" to their data, it ensures that only you can access and view the uploaded data.

The upload manner is similar to that of Dropbox as well. A small icon appears on folders that can be saved and uploaded into SpiderOak. I did notice that the upload times between the two softwares do differ significantly. SpiderOak took nearly 2x longer to sync the same data as it took Dropbox. The unique thing to remember is that each file is encrypted so it makes sense for it to take more time.

Pros :

The major pro with SpiderOak is the encryption of data.

User data that is synchronized to SpiderOak are stored in the cloud and on the company's server.

A digital "key" is provided to each individual so that their data is only accessed by you.

Cons :

The only negative I can really think of is that it does take longer for files to Sync.

Depending on the number of files that are being synchronized, it may make some users think twice of using SpiderOak and instead use Dropbox.

March 28, 2016

Maryna Bondarenko

Speaking with a lot of people about online file storage, I found out that the privacy is the main thing they are concerned about this. When I tell them that online file storage is convenient and easy, they usually answer that they don't want their files to be stored somewhere in the web. Well, among the storage services there are some that put the privacy at the forefront. SpiderOak is one of them. SpiderOak promises a higher level of data security. The information is transferred to the server only in encrypted form, and the password is almost never sent to the server. The exception is the case when user works with the web interface. However, despite its availability, developers advise to use it only in extreme cases (e.g. when there is no possibility to use a desktop or mobile application). In any case, the possibility of working with the web interface is very basic — it is only possible to view a list of all saved on the server files and to download them. So you'd better work with the service using desktop clients for Windows, Mac or Linux and mobile apps for Android and iOs. User password can be changed only in the settings of the client (not from the website). If the user forgets the password, SpiderOak will only send the e-mail hint specified during the registration. No tools for the automatic recovery are present here — this is the price for increased security.

Pros :

SSL is used for security The files are compressed, so the account can hold more data, and backup goes faster than the traditional one There are version history and deleted files histor.

Cons :

The performance of the desktop client is not the best The features of web interface is very limited Sharing is not user-friendly Only 2 GB for a free account.

Alternatives to SpiderOak

How many files do you have sitting on your computer or on a server at your business? Whether you are an individual with some videos, photos and files you want to store and keep secure, or you are in charge of a large company with confidential information that needs a safe place to reside, SpiderOak could be a good solution for you. The following are some of the most common questions asked about this cloud storage service.

Which Platforms Can Use SpiderOak?

You will find that SpiderOak is available for all of your devices. It works with Windows, Mac, and Linux machines, as well as Android, iOS, and N900 Maemo platforms.

How Secure Is It?

When people are storing their files and folders in the cloud, they are naturally worried about security. SpiderOak uses encrypted cloud storage, as well as client side encryption to help protect the files. This means that not even the employees at SpiderOak are able to access the files, so this should give users some added peace of mind. In addition, they are HIPAA compliant, so even businesses with private patient information should feel comfortable using it.

What If I Forget My Password?

Even those with the best memories can forget their password since they have so many different passwords to remember given all of the sites they use. Retrieving your password is simple. You can do it right through the SpiderOak site by entering your email or username. They will then send a password hint. Don't worry about them knowing your password or even the hint to your password though. Remember, it is all encrypted.

Is SpiderOak Right for Me?

If you have files and data that you want to store and backup online, and you want to make sure it is as safe as possible, then it is a good solution for you. It is very easy to use, it can scale with your needs, and there is even a free version that you can try so you can get a better understanding of how it all works. There is no drawback to trying the system.

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